Taking the Complexity Out of Rent Payments

If you’re familiar with Klarna® and Affirm®, you understand why these flexible online retail purchase payment options are so popular: they enable consumers to manage their cash flow better. This is particularly important for those who live paycheck to paycheck, a financial reality prevalent in America, particularly among apartment renters. Forbes recently revealed that 73.2% of Millennials (aka Generation Y) and 65.5% of Generation Z (or “Gen Z”—born 1997-2012) are living paycheck to paycheck. Together, these two generations comprise the majority of apartment renters.

While those generations are at the top of the paycheck-to-paycheck financial “lifestyle,” they’re not alone. According to Yahoo Finance, 64.2% of Generation X (born 1965-1980) live paycheck to paycheck, and according to a recent MarketWatch Guides Survey, nearly two-thirds of all Americans live that way.  

The same MarketWatch survey also revealed that:

• 72% of females and 60% of males live paycheck to paycheck.

• 48% of people with $100,000 or more in annual earnings live paycheck to paycheck.

• 75% of those earning $50,000 or less annually and two-thirds of individuals earning between $50,000 and $100,000 report having little to no financial freedom to save. 

• Americans living paycheck to paycheck spend nearly as much money as they earn every month, putting vital necessities—including rent payments—at risk if payday is delayed.

Unstable cash flow has become an unfortunate way of life for most Americans. While those findings make flexible rent payment plans advisable for multifamily property managers, another shocking fact makes it imperative across all property asset classifications: even high earners live paycheck to paycheck. In fact, nearly half of consumers earning six figures or more, and 36% of those earning $200,000 or more are living paycheck to paycheck, according to an April 2024 PYMNTS report. 

Those findings led to the launch of RealPage^®’s LOFT™ platform—a first-of-its-kind, all-in-one resident experience app designed to manage all aspects of multifamily living, including rent payment. Through our partnership with Flex, LOFT offers tenants the option to split rent into two payments, enhancing their financial well-being and experience—all at no cost to operators.

Providing residents the option to split their rent into smaller, more manageable payments with Flex helps to align their rent payments with pay cycles. As a result, residents can better manage cash flow and budget for unexpected expenditures like auto repairs or cavity filling. Paying rent shouldn’t be stressful. With a financial amenity option, residents will be more likely to renew, and property managers will be more likely to receive full rent payments on time each month. 

Today’s Apartment Renters Want Flexible Rent Payment Options

With all that in mind, it’s easy to understand why 93% of renters surveyed in the RealPage^® 2024 National Renter Study said they’re interested in being able to pay rent on a flexible schedule, with 97% of them saying it would make them more willing to renew their lease or choose a particular apartment.

The study additionally revealed that renters have experienced credit trouble and consistently carry debt, with 77% of renters saying they have struggled because of poor credit and 85% reporting that they have debt that requires regular payments (e.g., credit card debt, loans, car payments). Rent is their biggest monthly expense.

Those findings led to the launch of RealPage^®’s LOFT™ platform—a first-of-its-kind, all-in-one resident experience app designed to manage all aspects of multifamily living, including rent payment. In partnership with Flex, LOFT enables flexible rent payments—to split rent payments into weekly or biweekly installments for more manageable payments.  

Enabling residents to split their rent into smaller, more manageable payments helps them align their rental payments with their pay cycles. As a result, they can manage cash flow better and budget for unexpected expenditures like auto repairs, making rent payments less financially stressful. Property managers are, therefore, more likely to receive full rent payments on time each month, at no cost to them.

LOFT also provides financial tips and tools to help apartment residents build credit and limit delinquent payments. With LOFT, multifamily property managers can improve residents’ financial health and their bottom line at the same time.

How Flexible Payment Options Can Benefit Renters and Property Managers

For multifamily property managers, offering flexible rent payment options accomplishes more than just timely rent payments. Additional benefits include:

• Unburdening Property Staff

Flexible rent payment software frees staff from the administrative burden of chasing down rent, enabling them to focus on high-value activities like resident relations and property improvements.

• Enhancing the Resident Experience and Raising Resident Satisfaction

Offering financial flexibility to fit residents’ needs and improve their financial future can differentiate a multifamily community in a competitive market, increase resident satisfaction and raise retention rates. Residents do more for your multifamily community than just pay the rent. They talk about you. They recommend you. Imagine your multifamily community becoming known as the one that helps residents achieve  greater financial stability. That represents a potential boost to your property management company’s online reputation.

• Stabilizing Property Management Revenue Streams

Enabling flexible rent payments can stabilize revenue streams for property managers.

Addressing the Resident Experience Revolution

While RealPage’s multifamily renter study participants said that moving is a significant stressor and expense for them ($6,500 - $15,000 on average), they also made one thing abundantly clear: if they aren’t happy with their multifamily living experience, they will move. In fact, 94% of them have moved in the last two years—despite the high cost and stress they desperately want to avoid. That’s the extent to which a technology-enabled multifamily resident experience matters to them—one that includes tools and technology that can enable them to achieve greater financial security.

The study also indicates that renters will continue moving until they find an apartment community that meets their needs and expectations. So, offering the ability to make flexible rent payments isn’t a “nice to have.” It is a multifamily business continuity imperative.

Learn more about LOFT rent payments